Ray Mansfield – Page 116

Midsouth Boys – Boys Will Be Boys – 1985

The Midsouth Boys started out in 1970 as a quartet but by the mid 80’s they were a full on Country Band though often kept the quartet vocals. They had over 17 albums over the years and I was actually unable to find a definitive number of albums as a form of them are still going strong and putting out albums. They were a prolific touring band in the 80’s playing everything from Churches to arenas. This album can best be described as The Oak Ridge Boys meets George Strait. It is a strong country album and the quality of music is very high. So if you like your guitars with holes this is an album for you.

Track Listing:
1 – Guilty of Loving Me
2 – Out of the Grave
3 – Enter In
4 – To Go To Heaven
5 – I’ll Be Singing There
6 – Then We’ll Be Gone
7 – God Still Works Miracles
8 – Land Of The Free
9 – What A Meeting
10 – Camping In Canaanland

Credits
Vocals – Steve Knight, Stacy McGee, Bobby Bowen, Bruce Turnbough
Piano, Arrangements – Robby McGee
Bobby Bowen – Bass
Donnie Lewis – Drums
Eddie Crook – Producer

Deliverance – Lasting Impressions – 1978

Lasting Impressions is the third album from the Janz Brothers and it is the epitome of 70’s Funk. I was listening to it today and thinking this may be the “funkiest” Christian album of all time. I’m sure it’s not but it felt that way today. At this point in their careers/ministry the brothers were playing bars and coffee shops so this album has a very secular feel. The lyrics are still positive but the JPM was relatively low. Apparently the album did receive airplay in the U.S. and Europe but I can’t really find any proof of it.

Tracklist
1 – Deliverance – 5:17
2 – Such A Fool – 4:08
3 – Anytime You Feel It – 3:42
4 – Need You So Bad – 3:47
5 – Feel The Music – 2:58
6 – Lasting Impressions – 5:36
7 – Tender Love – 4:49
8 – Vanity – 3:53
9 – I Thank You – 3:46
10 – No Time To Waste – 0:53

Credits
Arranged By – Deliverance
Engineer – Brille, Will Roper, Zeke Lund
Producer, Mixed By – Horst Müller
Written-By – Herb Rempel (tracks: B5), Ken Janz (tracks: B1)
Written-By, Mixed By – Paul Janz (tracks: A1-A5, B1-B4)

September – Lines Are Falling – 1984

This was the 3rd album from siblings Russ, Dale, and Doug Kirkland who called themselves September. The brothers (and Sister Dale) brought in several studio musicians for this album to help out. The album is your average mid 80’s Pop album. Nothing spectacular but fun and easy to listen to and would be in my collection.

Tracklist
1 – Lines Are Falling – 4:12
2 – Too Little Time – 4:16
3 – Ready To Live – 3:43
4 – Calling For You – 3:48
5 – Night Song – 3:02
6 – Never Never – 3:04
7 – Somethin’s Comin’ – 4:28
8 – You Don’t Love Me – 4:00
9 – Hold Your Ground – 3:46
10 – Far From There – 3:45

Credits
Arranged By – September
Artwork – Doug Kirkland
Concept By – September
Engineer – Sturm
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Mixed By – Dale Kirkland Teiman, Russ Kirkland, Sturm
Photography By – Doug Smith
Producer – Dale Kirkland Teiman, Russ Kirkland

Edin-Ådahl – Maktfaktor – 1983

This is the Swedish version of the Edin-Ådahl album, X-Factor and the third Swedish release from the brothers Edin and Ådahl. It has a slightly more refined sound than previous albums but more fun as well. Again it was also released in North America in English but the album was called “X-Factor”. We have also uploaded that album and the link is below.

English Version

Tracklist
1 – Bättre Och Bättre
2 – Hold On
3 – Jag Väntar På Dej
4 – Blind (En Ny Dag Imorgon)
5 – Man I Tiden
6 – Maktfaktor
7 – Ögats Symfoni
8 – Nya Tankar
9 – Bara Du
10 – I Love You

Credits
Arranged By, Producer – Edin & Ådahl
Artwork By, Photography – Jan Pethrus
Engineer – Niklas Flykt
Engineer, Mixed By – Peter In De Betou
Saxophone – Uffe Bejstam
Trombone – Stephan Jonsson
Trumpet – Per Bejstam

Edin-Ådahl – X-Factor – 1984

This is the second North American release from the brothers Edin and Ådahl. It has a slightly more refined sound than the first album but more fun as well. Again it was previously released in Sweden in Swedish but the album was called “Maktfaktor” which translates as “Power Factor”. We have also uploaded that album and the link is below. Again the lyrics can be a struggle due to translation but they are good enough and the more of these great Swedish bands you hear the more you can forgive it.

Swedish Version

Tracklist
1 – X-Factor – 4:13
2 – Like A Motion Picture – 3:00
3 – I’m Waiting For You – 4:06
4 – Hold On – 2:87
5 – Blind (A New Day Tomorrow) – 4:87
6 – Closer And Closer – 3:51
7 – The Secret Of It All – 4:16
8 – Listen Brother! – 3:85
9 – I Love You – 3:41
10 – Thousand Years – 3:03

Credits
Design Concept [Cover And Insert Concept], Artwork By – Jeff Spencer
Engineer – Niklas Flyckt, Ulf Westman
Engineer, Mixed By – Peter In de Betou
Producer, Arranged By – Edin-Adahl

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Distributed By – Lawson Falle Limited
Distributed By – Leon Music A.B.
Distributed By – Window Records Ltd.
Distributed By – Revelation Recordings (4)
Distributed By – Pila Music GmbH
Recorded At – Studio Bastun
Mixed At – Studio Bastun
Recorded At – Montezuma Studio
Published By – Royal Music
Published By – Snellsong

Rick Cua – No Mystery – 1983

No Mystery is the second solo album from Rick after his departure from the Outlaws. His first solo album was very well received and received pretty good airplay on Christian radio. While nothing on this album singled on the CCM charts apparently there were a couple charting singles on the more rock oriented charts which unfortunately I can’t find an archive of. Guest guitarist on this album was Ian Bairnson from Alan Parsons Project. My personal picks from the album are High School Reunion and A.S.S.E.F.

Tracklist
1 – He Lives In Me – 3:55
2 – One Way Out – 4:37
3 – Changed – 3:54
4 – Just Visiting – 4:10
5 – The Power – 3:10
6 – High School Reunion – 3:22
7 – Create In Me A Heart – 4:18
8 – A.S.S.E.F. – 2:52
9 – Bright Light – 3:17
10 – Help Me Out – 4:14

Credits
Backing Vocals – Bob Halligan, Jr., Diana Cua (tracks: A3), Rick Cua
Cover – Buddy Jackson
Drums – David Dix
Engineer, Mixed By – Don Martell, Johnnie Schinas
Executive-Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar – Freddie Salem, Ian Bairnson, Ron DeRollo
Illustration – Buddy Jackson
Lead Guitar – Buz Cua (tracks: B5)
Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar, Producer – Rick Cua
Mastered By – John Skinner
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Piano – Bob Halligan, Jr.
Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Don Martell, Ed Vivenzio
Synthesizer – Andy Richards (tracks: A5), Bob Halligan, Jr.

Resurrection Band – Music To Raise The Dead (Demo) – 1974

This Demo was one of two demos recorded by Resurrection Band. It was recorded in Gary Rotta’s moms basement and was mixed using headphones as she was sleeping. It was distributed at concerts and is very rare. This was recorded before Stu Heiss joined the band but the style is definitely the sound we became used to from Resurrection Band. I’m not familiar with any songs on this Demo except Quite Enough which showed up on the Live Bootleg album in 1984. This is a nice insight to where Rez came from and lets us hear what they were doing before we all got to hear them.

Tracklist
1 – Down Baby – 6:17
2 – I Can’t Help Myself – 4:17
3 – Crimson River – 6:04
4 – There Will Be Fire – 4:03
5 – We Can See – 4:42
6 – Better Way – 4:01
7 – Growin’ Stronger – 4:22
8 – The Man I Used To Be – 5:25
9 – Quite Enough – 5:58

Credits
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Jim Denton
Drums – John Herrin
Harmonica – Tom Cameron
Lead Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Glenn Kaiser

Stryper – In God We Trust – 1988

This is Stryper’s 4th studio album and it starts up where the last album “To Hell With The Devil” left off. Actually it was more highly produced than the previous albums including overdubbed four part harmonies that were all the rage at the time. I find myself in a love hate relationship with this album. The album is way over produced/engineered but the songs are better lyrically and music wise than previous albums. The album did get 2 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart including “Always There For You” which hit #71 and “I Believe in You” which hit #88. “Keep The Fire Burning” was also released as a single but did not chart. #71, and #88 may not sound like great numbers but we are talking about a Christian band here remember.

Tracklist
1 – In God We Trust – 3:58
2 – Always There For You – 4:11
3 – Keep The Fire Burning – 3:35
4 – I Believe In You – 3:15
5 – The Writings On The Wall – 4:16
6 – It’s Up 2 U – 3:52
7 – The World Of You And I – 3:46
8 – Come To The Everlife – 4:09
9 – Lonely – 4:10
10 – The Reign – 2:48

Credits
Bass – Brad Cott
Engineer – Carmine Rubino, Dan Nebenzal
Engineer [Assistant] – Bob Vogt, Brian Scheuble, Charlie Brocco, Dave Deavalon, Gary Myersburg, Jeff DeMorris, Mark McKenna, Mike Bosley, Robert Hart (3), Scott Gordon
Keyboards [Additional] – Billy Meyers, John Van Tongren
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Mixed By – Carmine Rubino, Dan Nebenzal, Michael Lloyd, Stryper
Mixed By [Assistant] – Jeff DeMorris, Robert Hart
Producer – Michael Lloyd, Stryper
Programmed By [Synclavier] – Steven Croes

Leon Patillo – Brand New – 1987

This is the 8th album from Leon and his first on Sparrow after moving over from Myrrh. It really continues his previous work with some easy listening songs with a funk feel and some funk songs with an easy listening feel. The album had 3 singles. Isn’t It Crazy peaked at #4 with 14 weeks on the charts. I’m Brand New made it to #9 while staying on the charts 14 weeks. The 3rd single Strong Tower spent 10 weeks on the charts peaking at #30. I’d like to comment more on the album but really it’s very difficult to pick out anything to comment on this album vs his other albums. Bottom line if you liked Leon’s previous work you’ll like this one.

Tracklist
1 – I’m Brand New – 4:39
2 – Isn’t It Crazy – 4:36
3 – Deliver Me – 4:48
4 – Strong Tower – 3:24
5 – Melody Of Praise – 5:58
6 – Alpha & Omega – 4:52
7 – Blessed Are You – 3:30
8 – Golden City – 3:35
9 – New Thrill (Extended Version) – 3:53
10 – Try, Try Again – 4:08

Mark Farner – Just Another Injustice – 1988

This is Mark Farner’s first solo album after the dissolution of Grand Funk Railroad though he did have 2 solo albums while the band was still together. It was released on Frontline Records and left no argument that it was a Christian album. This is a great Rock & Roll album which plays to the patriotism of it’s mainly American audience. I’m not entirely sure who to compare the album to but there are a few songs on the album that Huey Lewis could have felt right at home singing. My favourite track is Come to Jesus which took me back to Sunday School but with a huge Rock & Roll upgrade. One cool thing on the album is a guest appearance from Phil Keaggy.

Tracklist
1 – Airborne Ranger – 3:57
2 – Judgement Day Blues – 4:46
3 – Isn’t It Amazing – 4:35
4 – Come to Jesus – 3:58
5 – Give Me the Works – 3:25
6 – An Emotional Look at Love – 3:16
7 – Workin’ for the Winner – 3:40
8 – Just Another Injustice – 3:55
9 – The Writing on the Wall – 4:30
10 – Only You – 3:43

Credits
Lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, bass – Mark Farner
Keyboards – Tim Heintz
Drums – David Huff
Guest guitars – Phil Keaggy
Additional bass – John Patitucci
Additional bass – Kirt Shearer
Guest backing vocals – Bob Carlisle